By the time I walked up to the Schnitzel & Things Truck around 1:30pm yesterday, most of the action had already ended. But I was just in time to catch a Mister Softee truck driver berating the owners of the Schnitzel truck. Explaining to them that his truck had been parked on this corner for years, and that they couldn’t park here, and that they were ruining it for everybody. “”There are a million corners to park in New York City! This one is mine.” Both trucks had been kicked out of their spots by the cops, who claimed that they had been receiving “complaints.” And even though the Schnitzel Truck had twittered earlier about trouble from a halal guy, it’s more likely the complaints came from the businesses in the area (possibly the Verizon store on that corner.)
Once the news broke, Schnitzel fans everywhere lashed out at the cops, the halal guy, and the Mister Softee truck vendor- who I watched threaten the owners of the Schnitzel Truck. And while I don’t believe in vendors threatening other vendors, and I really want schnitzel to be available in Midtown as often as possible, I have to side with the Mister Softee truck on this one. And it’s not too difficult to understand why.
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Posted by Zach Brooks at 8:30 am, August 26th, 2009 under Schnitzel & Things, Street Vendor Issues.
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